Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” (JN 20:26-27)
What do you believe in? Will the thing or person you believe in be able to save you or bring you to eternal life? Will they help you obtain eternal peace or eternal glory? Believing can be such a challenge for us especially when something or someone other than God has captured our attention, dominated our time or possessed our heart. We tend to look for hard facts or concrete evidence in order to believe. We believe we need to see something before we can believe in it. We place little trust or emphasis on what we can see or experience through the eyes of faith. Somehow, we make ourselves believe God does not understand our situation or believe God would be okay if we slightly believe what he has told us to be true. When we allow our personal feelings, or opinions, or judgements, or perceived needs to get in the way of our faith, we compromise what we have been taught and believe for something that is more convenient or better suits or meets our needs. We need to be careful living our faith this way. We need to be careful with living our faith based on what we believe should or should not be true rather than what God has told us to believe. We need to be careful with sharing our own personal beliefs as truth especially if they are not grounded in God, sound doctrine or the teachings of the Church. At times, we improvise our faith. We bend the rules or change the Truth in order to suit our needs. We collectively recite the Creed, our profession of faith at Mass. What if you had to prove your faith or were required to sign a document like a creed professing your faith and beliefs? Would you be comfortable in saying you believe in God, that Jesus died for you, that the Sacraments make you holy, that God speaks to you, that God has forgiven you, that God loves you, that we must keep Sunday holy, that we must go to Mass on days of obligation, that God chose life, that lying is a serious offense, that not praying or barely praying is a sin? Do you believe, truly believe, without hesitation or reservation that the bread and wine are truly changed into the Body and Blood of Christ? Do you believe that Jesus is truly and really present in Holy Communion? Jesus said, “do not be unbelieving, but believe.”